The Edmonton Oilers are officially on the ropes following their heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinal, putting them just one setback away from being eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Oilers held multiple leads on Sunday evening against the Ducks at Honda Center, only to see the host Ducks storm back every time and eventually secure the win in overtime on what was nothing short of a controversial goal.
Ryan Poehling was credited with the overtime game-winning goal after a lengthy video review determined that the puck completely crossed the goal line despite being mostly covered by the skate blade of Tristan Jarry.
And while the Oilers repeatedly voiced their disapproval with the call, it’s too late to do anything about it now other than do whatever is necessary to avoid elimination and try and bring the series back to Anaheim for a Game 6 later in the week.
But how do NHL Insiders feel about the ruling that put the Oilers one loss away from elimination?
NHL Insiders Break Silence On Controversial OT Goal That Went Against The Edmonton Oilers
NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman voiced his concerns over the play considering that there wasn’t an on-ice official that was directly behind the net in position to make the call.
“Because it was ruled a good goal on the ice, they have to be able to completely overturn it, or have conclusive evidence to do so. There’s nothing conclusively showing the call on the ice is wrong. They don’t have a clear view that shows the puck over the line,” Friedman said.
“The issue I have is I don’t understand how you can say that puck completely crossed the goal line. There’s no official behind the net. The call on the ice is a goal — that, to me, is the issue. Without someone in position behind the net, I don’t know how you can be certain that’s a good goal.”
Former NHL head coach Peter Laviolette, who led the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup 20 years ago in 2006, also gave his thoughts on the matter.
“There’s always controversial goals through the course of the playoffs, as a coach, I’ve had my share go both ways,” Laviolette said. “What now for Edmonton? They need to go in and play a desperate hockey game. I sometimes think that automatically gets built in after a loss, but this loss was tough.”
“Edmonton now is faced with, probably a morning where they went to bed not sure why the call went the way it did,” he continued. “I’m not here to argue the call, I was always told you need to see the white line behind the red line, see the separation of the white line. I didn’t see it, but it looks like it’s in. I’ve always just told the mentality has to be that way. But now they’re dealing with an overtime loss and somewhat of a controversial goal.”
The Oilers Must Now Win Three Straight Games
The Oilers have faced adversity in the postseason before. Last season in the opening round against the Los Angeles Kings, they rebounded from a two-games-to-none deficit to win four straight.
Of course, in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, they managed to fight back to tie the series at three games apiece after initially trailing three games to one.
The Oilers have no choice but to do so again in order to force a decisive, winner-takes-all Game 7 in Edmonton.
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